La Jornada, 5/9/98
Jim Carson and David Brooks

A retired officer of the U.S. Air Force, affirmed this week that the Mexican Government has deployed Huey Helicopters in Chiapas, an accusation that government functionaries warned would be a clear violation of the agreed upon uses that Mexico signed when the equipment was granted to Mexico by the Clinton Administration. Retired Lieutenant Colonel, Frank Houde, told La Jornada this week that, "I saw a pair of Hueys in the east airport of Tuxtla Gutierrez...They were two UH-1H helicopters that have only one motor, exactly like the helicopters that were used during the Vietnam War, I remember them well". Houde, who served in the U.S. Air Force during the U.S. war in Vietnam, asserted that he personally observed these two helicopters in Chiapas on Both the 16th and 20th of April, 1998.

In the last year, the U.S. has granted Mexico, 73 UH-1H helicopters for anti-narcotics operations by the air force. However the relocation of these helicopters was delayed because U.S. legislators have expressed concern that these helicopters could be used in counter-insurgency operations in Chiapas and Guerrero. The problem was finally resolved when the Clinton Administration convinced Mexico to sign an accord explicitly prohibiting the deployment of these helicopters in these two southern states of Mexico.

"Everybody understood that these helicopters would not be deployed in Chiapas", explained a functionary of the U.S. government. Furthermore, the Secretary of Foreign Relations declared in an official letter sent to the U.S. State Department on Sept. 15, 1996, that said, "the provided aircrafts will not be operatively deployed in the States of Chiapas and Guerrero".

Various human rights groups from the U.S. and Mexico have sustained that the helicopters granted by the U.S. have been deployed in Chiapas on various occasions, but have almost always existed in a state of confusions due to the uncertainty as to weather these observed helicopters form part of the equipment sent here by Washington. The confusions exists because in addition to the 73 Hueys donated to Mexico by the U.S., the Mexican Air Force has various Bell 206 helicopters, acquired commercially that aren't included as part of the conditions set forth in the accords with the U.S. that established the use of the Hueys. The Bell helicopters, are in essence, modern versions of the Hueys from the Vietnam era, but have two motors along with some other visible differences that can be detected by those who are familiar with this type of aircraft.

Furthermore, the U.S. have leased another 30 Hueys to the PGR in Mexico for use in the narcotics battle. Although these helicopters are also limited to these types of operations as stated in the accords, this equipment has been deployed in Chiapas in order to combat narco-trafficing. The Hueys of the PGR are painted predominantly blue and white, and have a white stripe that goes around the helicopters lengthwise. In response to these details, Houde has stated that, " the helicopters that I saw didn't have mounted arms, and were painted olive green". A functionary for the U.S. government with knowledge of the equipment being used in Mexico, confirmed to La Jornada that the Hueys granted to Mexico were painted olive green.

Because of this confusion over the precise data about the equipment being used in Mexico, the memorandum given by Houde during two interviews that took place over the last few days, has been solicited to be reviewed in order to confirm his details. Houde, who traveled to Mexico as part of the delegation, Veterans for Peace, is said to be sure that he observed two Hueys in Chiapas. Houde sustained, "I saw a pair of Hueys in Tuxtla, and others in Oaxaca...I have spent a lot of time around these choppers, I know when I see a Huey".

Translated by Global Exchange staff